By Richard Allyn / CBS8 / Nov. 10, 2026
… A local U.S. Army veteran is facing the possibility of being separated from his wife of more than 25 years after she was taken into ICE custody during an immigration court appearance in downtown San Diego.
Blanca Espinoza-Chairez, 65, was detained last Thursday, Nov. 5th, after appearing for an immigration court appointment. She is currently being held at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Calexico, according to her family.
Her detention has left her husband, Elton Stovell, an Army veteran and Encanto resident approaching 80, worried about how he will manage without her. Stovell is disabled and has relied on his wife for assistance with daily tasks, including taking medication and coordinating medical appointments.
“It’s his first Veterans Day without my mom in over 25 years,” said the couple’s daughter, Rosalie Stovell. She said her mother handled nearly everything to care for her father. Elton Stovell expressed frustration over the possibility of losing his wife’s support, questioning why she would be detained given his age, disability and military service.
“They’re talking about taking away my caretaker,” Stovell, who served in the Vietnam War, said. “That doesn’t make a damn bit of sense. I did my time. I’m a senior citizen now. At least let my wife stay with me until I croak, you know?”
According to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, Espinoza-Chairez had previously been removed from the United States once in 1997 and twice in 2000. The spokesperson said each subsequent return to the country resulted in a felony on her record.
Espinoza-Chairez had been living in the United States without legal immigration status before deciding several years ago to pursue citizenship, according to her family. Her daughter disputes the characterization of her mother as a criminal, arguing that the family’s life in the United States spans more than two decades.
“My mom is not a criminal,” Rosalie Stovell told CBS 8. “The only thing she did was cross the border, and no one is illegal on stolen land. And in our case, it was 25, 26 years ago.”
Rosalie Stovell said she was able to visit her mother briefly over the weekend. She described the experience as emotional and difficult, expressing concern about her elderly mother’s detention and the uncertainty surrounding her future.
The family has also launched an online petition (see below) appealing to ICE and members of Congress to intervene in the case and allow Espinoza-Chairez to remain in the United States. Her husband said he hopes authorities will consider the circumstances surrounding their family, including his age and military service.
“It’s kind of sad that they’re doing this to somebody my age, that’s retired and that’s a veteran,” he said, “so we’re trying to hopefully get her to stay here.”
A DHS spokesperson told CBS 8 that Espinoza-Chairez “will remain in ICE custody pending removal.”
Here’s the Petition:
The Issue
A Mother and Wife’s Place Is With Her Family: Request for Humanitarian Intervention
To U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Congressional Representatives, and Members of Our Community:
We are asking for compassion, consideration, and urgent humanitarian intervention on behalf of Blanca, who is currently being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and faces deportation from the United States.
Blanca was detained while attending a scheduled ICE check-in appointment. She showed up in good faith on 11/5/2026 making an effort to follow the immigration process and remain in communication with ICE. Our family believes it is important that this be considered: she was not avoiding the process; she was showing up as expected.
She is a deeply loved mother, wife, family member, and friend. She has built a life, established roots, and become an important part of the lives of those around her. For the past 30 years, the United States has been her home. Sending her back would mean forcing her to start over in a place she has been away from for decades. At over 65 years old, facing that kind of uncertainty, separation, and upheaval would be especially difficult. Her home, family, support system, and the life she has built are here. Her potential deportation would have devastating consequences for our family, particularly for her husband, who is a 100% disabled Vietnam era veteran and relies on Blanca as his primary caregiver.
Blanca is not simply his wife; she is the person who provides his primary care, support, and assistance in daily life. Separating them would place an enormous emotional and practical burden on him, while taking away the person he depends on most. We believe his service and sacrifices as a veteran, along with his reliance on Blanca as his caregiver, deserve meaningful consideration in this humanitarian appeal.
Our family has worked diligently to support Blanca’s case. We have gathered letters of recommendation, supporting documentation, and statements from people who know her character and the positive impact she has had on her family and community. We have also retained legal representation and are pursuing every legal option available to her.
We are respectfully asking for three things:
1. To U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: We ask ICE to conduct an urgent, individualized humanitarian review of Blanca’s circumstances and consider all available forms of discretionary relief, including a stay of removal and release under appropriate supervision if legally available. We specifically ask that her husband’s disability, his dependence on her as his primary caregiver, and the hardship her removal would cause be given serious consideration.
2. To our elected officials: We ask our U.S. Senators and Congressional Representative to intervene by submitting an urgent inquiry to ICE, requesting clarification of her removal status and timeline, and advocating for humanitarian consideration of her case.
3. To our community: We ask friends, family, neighbors, veterans, and supporters to stand with us, sign this petition, and help bring attention to our family’s request.
We understand that immigration laws and procedures must be followed. We are not asking for anyone to bypass the legal process. We are asking that Blanca’s individual circumstances, family responsibilities, community contributions, and the humanitarian consequences of her removal receive meaningful consideration before an irreversible decision is carried out.
A person’s life cannot be reduced to an immigration case number. Blanca’s presence matters deeply, and her absence would leave a tremendous void in the lives of those who depend on and love her.
Please stand with Blanca and our family. Help us make our voices heard and urge ICE and our elected representatives to consider every available humanitarian option before her removal from the United States.
Thank you for your compassion, support, and willingness to stand with us.
Here’s the Fox5 version.
Veteran family says mom and wife detained by ICE
by: Juliette Vara / Fox5SanDiego / Nov 10, 2026
An Encanto family is speaking out and raising awareness after their family member was detained by immigration officials during a routine check-in appointment on Nov. 5.
Rosali Stovell says her 65-year-old mom, Blanca, was detained and is now at the Imperial Regional Detention Facility and is being threatened that she could be deported.
The Stovell family says Blanca began her paperwork for citizenship three years ago under the Biden Administration.
“It’s so sad, I miss her so much,” said Rosali Stovell.
Stovell’s father, Vietnam Veteran Elton Stovell, Sr., is disabled and relies on his wife of 25 years to care for him.
“It hasn’t even been a whole week; our whole world blew up on us,” she said.
During her immigration check-in appointment Stovell says her mom’s packet wasn’t reviewed, instead she was detained due to a prior deportation decades earlier.
“Twenty five years ago, she crossed and was deported and came back anyways, that was 26 years ago. She started a family here, she had me, married my dad, built a home.”
The Stovell family was hoping she would be protected under what’s called military parole in place, but that program has been curtailed during the Trump Administration.
“I felt betrayed in that way and also the fact that I served during the Vietnam Era, ’66 to ’69 in the Army, almost got shot off road,” Stovell, Sr. said. “100% disabled veteran now, and they could not grant me this one thing?”
In an effort to highlight their story, the Stovell family formed a petition, which has been signed by hundreds of people, and they’re receiving calls from state leaders offering to look into the case.
“Seeing her in that horrible uniform, this is the best person in the world. To see her going through that, why are bad things happening to good people?” said her daughter.
